The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Compression combustion engines combust a mixture of air and fuel to produce torque. When starting an compression combustion engine in cold weather, heating of the air may help the compression combustion engine to reach a desired operating temperature more quickly. As air is drawn into the compression combustion engine, it may be warmed by a heater. For example only, this heater may be a resistive heater, which generates heat in response to electric current.
The heater may be powered by a battery. In various implementations, the battery may also be used to provide power to glow plugs and/or a starter motor. The heater may be controlled by placing a solid-state switch between the battery and the heater. By closing the solid-state switch, current is allowed to flow from the battery through the heater, thereby generating heat. Opening the solid-state switch stops the flow of heat.